The present invention relates to fishing lures and, in particular, to a tool for banding multi-stranded elastomer skirts.
A dressing commonly mounted to fishing lures such as jigs or "spinner baits" or "buzz baits" is a multi-stranded skirt. The skirts are typically fabricated from sheets of an elastomer material, such as rubber or silicone rubber. A sheet is partitioned into a number of regions that are processed into individual skirts. Each skirt is defined by a multiplicity of slits that form strands. The strands are attached between solid bands that border the ends of the strands. The skirts are cut from the sheets with the borders attached. The strands are contained by the borders, until the strands are bound together. A rubber band typically secures the strands together.
The borders are not typically cut from the strands until the strands are banded. The skirt is then ready to be mounted to a desired lure. Banded skirts, which are sold to original equipment manufacturers and as after market components to the fisherman, do not normally contain the borders.
The rubber band is also used to attach one or more of the skirts to an appendage of the foregoing fishing lures. The skirts can have the same or different colors and/or surface treatments. Both lure types include a molded lead head. Spinner baits also typically include a formed wire that protrudes from the head or body and supports one or more metal blades that spin and vibrate as the lure is retrieved. A fishing line is attached to the wire or can be attached to an eye at the hook. As the lures are retrieved, the strands or filaments of the skirt undulate with movement of the lure through water and entice the strike of a prey species of fish.
Examples of banded skirts can be found at U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,640,041 and 5,251,395.
The bands are attached to the skirts in factory settings with assembly jigs that contain the skirt and permit the manipulation of one of a number of bands onto each skirt. The jigs are designed to accommodate volume production. Applicant is unaware of any portable jig to bind the strands of a skirt, especially one intended for use in a boat.
Examples of another skirt style or "rollup" skirt are shown at U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,517,782 and 5,709,047. Rollup skirts are formed by rolling and bonding the border of a skirt to a tubular, elastomer core piece with an appropriate adhesive. The cut ends of the strands trail from the core piece. A bore in the core piece stretches and mounts to the lure.
Skirts bound with rubber bands are frequently found in the after market as replacements for skirts that tear or become damaged. Skirts may also discolor from exposure to ultraviolet light, contaminants in the water or tackle box, or age. A fisher person may carry a supply of different colored skirts to doctor his or her lures. That is, the fisher person may want to tailor the appearance of a lure to produce a specific presentation commensurate to the fishing conditions. The fisher person must therefore carry a relatively large supply of skirts for a variety of colors. This can be costly and require a stock beyond normally needs.
As an alternative, the present invention provides a portable tool that a fisher person may use while fishing to construct a skirt of a preferred color scheme. The tool of the invention provides a low-cost, portable device that can be carried by the fisher person in a pocket. The tool is readily carried in a shirt pocket or tackle box and allows a fisher person to manufacture his or her own skirts. The tool facilitates the banding of skirt blanks of various colors or having strands of different lengths and shapes to be banded together and attached to a lure of choice to obtain a personally preferred presentation.